Twins postgame: Year 19 is coming to an end. Some thoughts

This ends my 19th year on the beat. Before that, I covered the Royals for three years. Until today, I had never covered a team that had lost 100 games before.

That means this is the worst baseball team I have ever covered.

They can't sustain offense. They make baserunning mistakes. The pitching staff is a shambles. And they need serious upgrades defensively.

Here are some observations:

The Twins can't have a left side of the infield with Jorge Polanco and Migue Sano. There will be too many mistakes between the both of them.

Polanco doesn't have the arm to play shortstop.

Robbie Grossman's defense makes him, at best, a fourth outfielder or a DH candidate. But the fourth outfielder usually is a defensive player. So I don't know of there's a role for Grossman.

The Twins need a catcher who is defense first. It's too vital of a position not to have someone who can call games, frame pitches and prevent stolen bases. If the guy hits .235 but can run a staff, go for him.

Byron Buxton could become a Gold Glove center fielder who hits 30-plus home runs a year.

Turning around a franchise takes as much time as it does to fix a pitching staff. As soon as the Twins can sort their pitching out, they can compete.

After Ervin Santana, I'm not sure how capable the rest of the rotation is right now. Tyler Duffey and Jose Berrios need to be fixed. Kyle Gibson's career is at a crossroads, to me. Which Phil Hughes are they getting next year?

Stephen Gonsalves will be the next starting prospect to get a shot.

Kohl Stewart and Tyler Jay both were top ten overall picks. If they don't come through, the Twins have to look at how they are developing pitchers.

What did I just write? They need to do that anyway. Matt Garza and Brad Radke are their last two homegrown starters. Wow.

It's painful to watch No. 7 these days. He's not running well. He doesn't have his legs under him when he swings. He should shut it down the rest of the season.

I don't expect a few coaches to return next season. I'm guessing at least three new faces.

The Twins need to cut the cord with Kennys Vargas, Byung Ho Park or both. The DH spot needs to be available for Mauer and Sano.

The free agent pitching market is not expected to be strong this offseason. Teams will be looking to trade for pitching. That means it will be a seller's market. Keep this in mind as some of you wonder about trading Brian Dozier for pitching.

I'm on the fence about trading Dozier. Guess it depends on the deal. That's a lot of production to take out of a lineup.

I do think Sano is sincere about wanting to lose weight and stay on the field. His challenge is to keep the big picture in focus.

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La Velle E. Neal III has covered baseball for the Star Tribune since 1998 (the post-Knoblauch era). Born and raised in Chicago, he grew up following the White Sox and hating the Cubs. He attended both the University of Illinois and Illinois-Chicago and began his baseball writing career at the Kansas City Star. He can be heard occasionally on KFAN radio, lending his great baseball mind to Paul Allen and other hosts. Mark Rosen borrows him occasionally for WCCO-TV.

Phil Miller covered three seasons of Twins baseball, but that was at a different ballpark for a different newspaper. Now Miller returns to the baseball beat after joining the Star Tribune as the Gopher football writer in 2010, and he won't miss the dingy dome for a minute. In addition to the Twins and Gophers, Miller covered the Utah Jazz and the NBA for six years at The Salt Lake Tribune.